Republic Of The Philippines v. Lichauco

ZALDIVAR, J.:

The Republic of the Philippines, by authority of Republic Act No. 1400, represented by the Land Tenure Administration, filed on December 2, 1957, in the Court of First Instance of Pangasinan a complaint against the defendants for the expropriation of the lands of the "Hacienda El Porvenir", having an area of 1,352.84245 hectares, situated in the municipalities of Tayug, Natividad, San Quintin and Sta. Maria, province of Pangasinan. In the complaint it was alleged, among other things, that the aggregate assessed value of the property was P434,440.00, and that the continuous agrarian conflicts between defendants and their tenants could be solved only through the purchase of said property by the government.

Defendants, in their amended motion to dismiss, sought the dismissal of the complaint, alleging that the hacienda was no longer a co-ownership but had been partitioned among the several heirs of Crisanto Lichauco, and that Republic Act No. 1400 was unconstitutional. On March 23, 1961, the plaintiff and the defendants filed in court an "Agreement and Joint Motion 2, as follows: COMES NOW the plaintiff, represented by the Land Tenure Administration, and the defendants (Mariano) F. Lichauco, Macario M. H. Lichauco, represented by Romeo Lichauco as Administrator and Guardian ad litem, Renato P. Lichauco, Francisco and Jose Castillo (minors) represented by their mother and legal guardian, Olga Gonzales Castillo, and Trinidad Castillo; Amanda L. De la Cruz and Jose Manuel Lichauco, assisted by their respective counsels, and to this Honorable Court most respectfully state: 1. The defendant-co-owners do hereby agree, as evidenced by their signature affixed hereto, to the expropriation of their property known as the "HDA.

EL PORVENIR" described in Pars. II and III of the complaint, comprising the southern one half (½) of that parcel or agricultural land covered by Original Certificate of Title No. 7 of the land records of the Province of Pangasinan, situated in the municipalities of Tayug, Natividad, San Quintin and Sta.

Maria; 2. That the defendant-co-owners have agreed to the condemnation of their property in view of the conformity of the plaintiff to grant them the right of retention of the areas stated below and further reflected on the sketch plan hereto attached and made an integrate part hereof as Annex "A"; and the defendant-co-owners who are the heirs of the property have among themselves agreed and have adjudicated the retained areas corresponding to the persons whose names appear below: Lot 3 - Amanda de la Cruz 132.7732 Has. More or less Lot 4 - Renato Lichauco 144.1449 Has.

More or less Lot 8 - Amanda de la Cruz 6.8980 Has. More or less Lot 9 - Amanda de la Cruz(Mariano) 5.3164 Has. More or less Lot 10 - Amanda de la Cruz (Macario) 4.8811 Has.

More or less Lot 12 - Amanda de la Cruz (Ranato) 5.8811 Has. More or less Lot 2 - Trinidad Castillo (portion) 51.3100 Has. More or less Lot 11 - Trinidad Castillo & minors Francisco & Jose Castillo 6.7955 Has.

More or less Lot 13 - Jose Manuel Lichauco 5.5375 Has. More or less TOTAL 362.6700 Has. More or less leaving a total area of approximately 990.1725 hectares subject to expropriation.

3.

That the plaintiff and the defendant-co-owners have agreed to survey and segregate the retained areas by the surveyors of the Land Tenure Administration, with the assistance of the defendant-co-owners or their authorized representative in order to pinpoint and delineate more or less the boundaries on the ground of the retained areas, at the expense of the Land Tenure Administration; 4. That the defendant-co-owners hereby waive their right to contest the expropriation by the Republic of the Philippines of the property mentioned in Pars. Il and III of the complaint, excluding the portions to be retained by them, as to which the plaintiff agrees to dismiss the expropriation proceedings in the above-mentioned case; 5.

That while it is true that these expropriation proceedings are based on Original Certificate of Title No. 7, one half (½) of which is more or less 1,352.8425 hectares, the survey on the ground as per G. L. R. 0. No. 1 shows an increase in area of about 144.0681 hectares which is still subject to judicial determination in G. L. R. 0. Case No. 1 and in the event the difference in area is adjusted and/or adjudicated in favor on the defendant-co-owners, the plaintiff shall have the option buy the said portions in question as adjudicated and to pay the corresponding price as in this expropriation case.

However should there be an official devaluation of the Philippine Currency the price of the disputed area, as well as the balance of the price of the portion of land expropriated herein, shall be computed in accordance with the value of the currency at the time of the Court's adjudication in each case. 6. That the defendant-co-owners have agreed that payments shall be made to them separately.

In regard to liens and encumbrances, payment shall be made to the creditor banks out of the provisional value to be paid to each defendant-co-owners by the Land Tenure Administration with the Court which shall be deducted from the corresponding amounts due each of the defendant-co-owners who are the debtors. That payment to each co-owner by each of them, including that portion sold by Mariano Lichauco to the late Maria Vda. de Gonzales and now owned by her heirs, Trinidad Castillo and the minor Francisco and Jose Castillo, and also that portion sold directly to Trinidad Castillo as follows: Area sold by Mariano Lichauco to the late Maria Lichauco Vda.

de Gonzales - ONE HUNDRED SIXTY SIX THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY SQUARE METERS (166,180) more or less. Dated July 29, 1954. Francisco de la Fuente, Notary Public, City of Manila, Doc.

No. 39; Page No. 89; Book No. II; Series of 1954. NINETY THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED SQUARE METERS (90,600) more or less. Dated April 28, 1955; City of Manila; SERVILLANO DE LA CRUZ, Notary Public; Doc.

No. 79; Page No. 94, Book No.II; Series of 1955. Sold by Mariano Lichauco to Trinidad G. Castillo TWENTY THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED SQUARE METERS (20,800) more or less. Dated Dec.

17, 1956. Notary Public Jose Aligayan, City of Manila. From the amounts due Mariano F. Lichauco and Macario M. H. Lichauco, represented by Romeo Lichauco as administrator, the amounts of P5,000.00 and P32,800.00, respectively corresponding to their personal accounts with Amanda L. de la Cruz shall be paid directly to the latter; 7.

That the provisional value corresponding to ten (10) hectares of first class land due each of the defendant-co-owners, Macario M. H. Lichauco, Mariano Lichauco and Jose Manuel Lichauco, and the value corresponding to seven (7) hectares of first class land due to Francisco and Jose Castillo shall be deducted from the share of each of the said defendants, as well as from all subsequent payments corresponding to said area, and the said deductions shall be paid directly to Amanda de la Cruz who shall deposit same in a bank so as to earn interest, under the name of each depositor separately in trust for the remaining land owners to answer for the liability of the said defendant-co-owners in the event G.L.R.O. Case No.

1 should be decided adversely against them; otherwise all such amounts deposited with Amanda L. de la Cruz shall be paid or delivered by her to the said defendants, Macario, Mariano, Jose Manuel Lichauco and Francisco and Jose Castillo immediately after the termination of such case; provided, however, that no payment or delivery of the said amounts shall be made, until and unless said G.L.R.O. Case No. 1 and its related cases shall have been terminated; and provided further that should the liability of each of the defendant-co-owners exceed the value of said ten hectares, all of them shall be liable for their proportionate share of said excess, but in no case shall the liability of Amanda de la Cruz, Renato P. Lichauco, the heirs of Maria L. Vda. de Gonzales and all other defendant-co-owners shall exceed their proportionate shares should G. L. R. O. Case No. 1 be decided adversely against them, and likewise the liability of Trinidad G. Castillo shall not exceed her proportionate share as stipulated in the supplemental agreement entered into between Olga Gonzales de Castillo and Trinidad Gonzales de Castillo dated January 18, 1957 and notarized by Notary Public Stella D. Dadivas on July 23, 1960; 8.

That the defendant-co-owners shall be paid according to the areas they have agreed to sell under 0. C. T. No. 7 as well as for the disputed area, should the same be adjudicated to the estimated as follows: Area (O.C.T. No.7) Provisional Value Disputed Excess Value Amanda L. de la Cruz 80.48615 Has. 80,486.15 24,01135 Has.

Mariano Lichauco 197.71575 Has. 107,715.75 24.01135 Has. Jose M. Lichauco 212-11355 Has.

212,113.55 24.01135 Has. Heirs of M. H. Lichauco 220.59265 Has. 220,592.65 24.01135 Has.

Renato Lichauco 84.13815 Has. 84,138.15 24.01135 Has. Trinidad Castillo 79.07462 Has.

79,074.62 8.00378 Has. Francisco & Jose Castillo 116.05163 Has.